Battleground watch: Hispanic outreach

— Compiled by NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann…The Washington Post reports that the DNC and the Obama campaign will pour $20 million into Hispanic outreach in battlegrounds with high Latino populations. "Targets will include Florida; Western states such as Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico; and Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan, industrial battlegrounds with sizable Hispanic populations. The money will be spent on niche advertising and other outreach, along with mobilization efforts aimed at identifying, registering and turning out new Democratic voters."

IOWA:Pawlenty 2012? The Minnesota governor will be doing an awful lot of stumping in caucus state Iowa, with three visits planned in the next three months.

The Des Moines Register's Yepsen writes, "While there's plenty of historic and electoral evidence to predict an Obama victory, those of us who dismissed McCain when he was in the primary doldrums may want to take a little time before we do it again." McCain finished fourth in the Iowa caucuses -- behind Fred Thompson even -- and essentially pulled out to focus on New Hampshire.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Washington Times pinpoints movement among independents in New Hampshire that could spell trouble for John McCain.

OHIO:PolitickerOH talked to RNC Chairman Mike Duncan about how he plans to combat Obama's grassroots effort. The answer: new phone technology and a leaner, meaner Republican operation.

VIRGINIA: A new office in the heart of Shenandoah brings the Obama campaign's total in the Old Dominion to 25.